examples of dbq essays ap world history

AP World History DBQ Example

Once you have answered our  AP World History Document-Based Question , scroll down to read a sample high-scoring response. Our AP World History DBQ example will guide you through the step to a perfect answer.

Evaluate the effects of the Columbian Exchange on the peoples and cultures of the Old World (Europe, Asia, Africa) and the New World (Americas) from the late 15th century to the 17th century.

Guided Response:

Introduction Thesis/Claim (A):  The Columbian Exchange, initiated by Christopher Columbus’s voyages in the late 15th century, fundamentally altered the lives and cultures of people in both the Old World and the New World. In the Americas, it led to significant cultural and demographic shifts due to the introduction of new crops and livestock, as well as devastating impacts from Old World diseases. Conversely, the Old World experienced a transformation in diet, agriculture, and economic structures, largely due to the influx of New World crops like maize, potatoes, and tobacco.  (1 point for a clear thesis that responds to the prompt) Contextualization (B):  Prior to the Columbian Exchange, the Old and New Worlds had evolved separately, leading to distinct agricultural practices, societal structures, and disease immunities. The exchange bridged these worlds, introducing a period of profound biological and cultural exchanges.  (1 point for providing broader historical context relevant to the prompt) Body Paragraph 1 Evidence from Documents (C):  The introduction of tobacco in the Ming Dynasty, as described in Document 1 by Charles C. Mann, showcases the rapid adoption and integration of New World crops into Old World societies. Similarly, the spread of maize in Ormuz, as noted in Document 5 by Afonso de Albuquerque, indicates the eagerness of different cultures to incorporate New World crops.  (1 point for using content from at least three documents) Analysis and Reasoning (D):  The point of view in Document 1 reflects the perspective of a Chinese physician, highlighting the medicinal value attributed to tobacco, a New World plant, in the Old World. This demonstrates the integration of American crops into Asian medicinal practices.  (1 point for explaining the document’s point of view) Body Paragraph 2 Evidence from Documents (C):  The observations of Hernán Cortés in Document 4 about the marketplaces and infrastructure of Tenochtitlan reveal the sophistication of the Aztec civilization before European contact. This contrasts with the devastation described by Bartolomé de las Casas in Document 6, which underscores the catastrophic impact of the Columbian Exchange on indigenous populations.  (1 additional point for using content from at least four documents to support an argument) Analysis and Reasoning (D):  Document 4 provides insight into Cortés’s perspective as a conqueror, marveling at the complexity of the Aztec civilization, which underscores the depth of cultural loss following the Columbian Exchange.  (1 additional point for explaining the document’s point of view) Body Paragraph 3 Evidence Beyond the Documents (C):  Beyond the documents, the introduction of Old World diseases like smallpox had a devastating effect on Native American populations, who lacked immunity to these diseases. This led to a drastic decline in their population and a weakening of their societies.  (1 point for using additional historical evidence) Conclusion Complex Understanding (D):  The Columbian Exchange was not merely a transfer of goods but a profound reshaping of cultures and societies. It brought about not only the exchange of crops and diseases but also a reconfiguration of global power dynamics, with long-lasting effects on both the Old and New Worlds.  (1 point for demonstrating a complex understanding of the historical development)

When you finish your AP World History DBQ practice, use the buttons below to move on to our long essay practice questions and example answers or return to the main menu.

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AP World Document-Based Question (DBQ) Overview

19 min read • november 18, 2021

Melissa Longnecker

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Overview of the Document-Based Question (DBQ)

The one thing you need to know about this question:

Section II of the AP Exam includes the one required Document-Based Question (DBQ.) Unlike the other free-response sections (SAQ and LEQ), there isn’t any choice in what you write about for this essay.

You will be given a prompt and a set of seven documents to help you respond to the prompt. The documents will represent various perspectives relating to the prompt, and they will always include a mixture of primary source text documents and primary or secondary source visuals . Your task is to use these documents, and your knowledge of history, to answer the prompt.

The DBQ is designed to test your knowledge of history, your ability to analyze a variety of sources, and your skill in crafting and supporting a clear and complex argument. It is the single most complicated task on the exam; however, it is very doable with practice and preparation.

Your answer should include the following:

A valid thesis

A discussion of relevant historical context

Use of evidence from the documents (all) and evidence not found in the documents to support your thesis

A discussion of relevant factors that affect the document

Complex understanding of the topic of the prompt.

We will break down each of these aspects in the next section. For now, the gist is that you need to write an essay that answers the prompt, using the documents and your knowledge as evidence. You will also need to discuss some additional factors that impact your use of the documents.

Many of the skills you need to write a successful DBQ essay are the same skills you will use on the LEQ. In fact, some of the rubric points are identical, so you can use a lot of the same strategies on both writing tasks!

The topic of your DBQ will come from the following time periods, depending on your course:

AP World History: Modern - 1200-1900

AP US History - 1754-1980

AP European History - 1600-2001

The writing time on the AP Exam includes both the DBQ and the Long Essay Question (LEQ), but it is suggested that you spend 60 minutes completing the DBQ. You will need to read and analyze the documents and write your essay in that time.

A good breakdown would be: 15 min. (reading & analysis) + 45 min. (writing) = 60 min.

The DBQ is scored on a rubric out of seven points and is weighted at 25% of your overall exam score. We’ll break down the rubric next.

The DBQ is scored on a seven-point rubric, and each point can be earned independently. That means you can miss a point on something and still earn other points with the great parts of your essay.

Let’s break down each rubric component...

The thesis is a brief statement that introduces your argument or claim and can be supported with evidence and analysis. This is where you answer the prompt.

This is the only element in the essay that has a required location. The thesis needs to be in your introduction or conclusion of your essay. It can be more than one sentence, but all of the sentences that make up your thesis must be consecutive in order to count.

The most important part of your thesis is the claim , which is your answer to the prompt. The description the College-Board gives is that it should be “historically defensible,” which really means that your evidence must be plausible. On the DBQ, your thesis needs to be related to information from the documents, as well as connected to the topic of the prompt.

Your thesis should also establish your line of reasoning. Translation: address why or how something happened - think of this as the “because” to the implied “how/why” of the prompt. This sets up the framework for the body of your essay since you can use the reasoning from your thesis to structure your body paragraph topics later.

The claim and reasoning are the required elements of the thesis. And if that’s all you can do, it will earn you the point.

Going above-and-beyond to create a more complex thesis can help you in the long run, so it’s worth your time to try. One way to build in complexity to your thesis is to think about a counter-claim or alternate viewpoint that is relevant to your response. If you are thinking about using one of the course reasoning processes to structure your essay (and you should!) think about using that framework for your thesis too.

In a causation essay, a complex argument addresses causes and effects .

In a comparison essay, a complex argument addresses similarities and differences.

In a continuity and change over time essay, a complex argument addresses change and continuity.

This counterclaim or alternate viewpoint can look like an “although” or “however” phrase in your thesis.

Sample complex thesis: While some cultural traditions and belief systems, such as Confucianism, actively warned against the accumulation of wealth through trade, other societies reliant on trade used their belief systems to rationalize the behavior of merchants despite moral concerns. Still, others used religion as a means to promote trade and the activities of merchants.

👉🏾 Watch Patrick Lasseter break down the thesis and craft this sample here!

Contextualization

Contextualization is a brief statement that lays out the broader historical background relevant to the prompt.

There are a lot of good metaphors out there for contextualization, including the “previously on…” at the beginning of some TV shows, or the famous text crawl at the beginning of the Star Wars movies.

Both of these examples serve the same function: they give important information about what has happened off-screen that the audience needs to know to understand what is about to happen on-screen.

In your essay, contextualization is the same. You give your reader information about what else has happened, or is happening, in history that will help them understand the specific topic and argument you are about to make.

There is no specific requirement for where contextualization must appear in your essay. The easiest place to include it, however, is in your introduction . Use context to get your reader acquainted with the time, place, and theme of your essay, then transition into your thesis.

Good contextualization doesn’t have to be long, and it doesn’t have to go into a ton of detail, but it does need to do a few very specific things.

Your contextualization needs to refer to events, developments and/or processes outside the time and place of the prompt. It could address something that occurred in an earlier era in the same region as the topic of the prompt, or it could address something happening at the same time as the prompt, but in a different place. Briefly describe this outside information.

Then, connect it to your thesis/argument. The language from the College Board is that contextualization must be “relevant to the prompt,” and in practical terms; this means you have to show the connection. A transition sentence or phrase is useful here (plus, this is why contextualization makes the most sense in the introduction!).

Also, contextualization needs to be multiple consecutive sentences, so it’s all one argument (not sprinkled around in a paragraph). The introduction is the best place for contextualization, but not the only place. 

Basically, choose a connected topic that “sets the stage” for your thesis, and briefly describe it in a couple of sentences. Then, make a clear connection to the argument of your thesis from that outside information.

Sample contextualization: The period 1200-1600 saw the growth of centralized empires such as the Song in China or the Ottoman Empire. These empires promoted trade and growth as state policy, and this economic growth created new economic elites. In response to this change, religious leaders, thinkers, and scholars weighed in to promote, criticize, or simply comment on the moral aspects of trade and economic growth. 

👉🏾 Watch Evan Liddle break down contextualization and write an example here!

Evidence is the historical detail, the specific facts, and examples that prove your argument. In the DBQ, your evidence comes from two places: the documents themselves, and your outside knowledge of history. You should plan to use all seven documents as evidence AND bring in your knowledge on top of that.

Having evidence is important, and one of the rubric points on the DBQ is just about having evidence. Of course, it’s not enough just to know the facts. You also need to use those facts to support your argument/claim/thesis, and the other two possible rubric points for evidence on the DBQ are about using the evidence you have to support what you’re trying to say.

Evidence goes in your body paragraphs. In fact, the bulk of your body paragraphs will be made up of evidence and supporting analysis or commentary that connects that evidence to other evidence and/or to the argument you are making.

Good evidence is specific, accurate, and relevant to the prompt.

Don’t simply summarize the documents. Use a specific idea or argument from the document as your evidence.

Evidence from the documents should come directly from part or all of a document, ideally without quoting.

Paraphrasing allows you to transition directly into your argument without all the work of embedding a quote like you might for an English essay. Take a specific idea from the document, phrase it in your own words, and use it in support of your argument.

You earn a point of using evidence from at least three of the documents. There’s an additional point up for grabs for using evidence from at least six documents and supporting your argument with that evidence, which means you should always link your evidence back to your topic sentence or thesis.

Example: Ibn Khaldun observed that trade benefitted merchants at the expense of their customers, and he feared that participating in trade, though legal under Islamic law, would weaken the moral integrity of merchants.

Evidence from your outside knowledge is much the same, except that you won’t have a document to structure it for you. Describe a specific example of something you know that is relevant to the prompt, and use it to support your argument. Using course-specific vocabulary is a great strategy here to know that you are writing specific evidence.

Example: Muhammad himself was a merchant before becoming the Prophet of Islam, which accounts for the support of merchants and trade by Muslim societies.

👉🏾 Watch Caroline Castellanos break down the sample DBQ and pull out key pieces of evidence here.

Analysis and Reasoning: Sourcing

What is it? For at least three of the documents, you need to analyze the source of the document as well as the content. There are four acceptable categories of sourcing analysis:

Historical situation - this is like a miniature version of contextualization. Ask: when/where was this document created? How does that historical situation influence what the document is or what it says?

Intended audience - every document was created with an audience in mind. A document created for a king will likely be very different from a document created for a lover. Ask: for whom was this document created? How would that person have understood it? What did they know or understand that the creator could leave unsaid? What did they need to be explained?

Point of view - every document was created by someone, and that person has specific knowledge, opinions, and limitations that impact what they create. Ask: who created this document? How well did they understand the topic of the document? What would limit their understanding or reliability on this topic? What characteristics might influence them (race, gender, age, religion, status, etc.)

Purpose - all documents were created for a reason. Figure out the reason and understand why a document says or shows what it does. Ask: why was this document created, and how does that impact what it is?

Any of these characteristics will have an impact on how you use a document to support your argument. Sometimes a characteristic will weaken a document’s reliability. Sometimes a characteristic will strengthen a document’s usefulness. In addition to describing the relevant characteristic of a document, you should also explain how or why it impacts your argument.

Where do I write it? You should connect sourcing directly to your discussion of evidence from a particular document. This will occur throughout your body paragraphs.

How do I know if mine is good? Your sourcing should describe a relevant characteristic of the document and explain why/how that characteristic is relevant to your argument.

Sample sourcing statement: As a Muslim scholar, Ibn Khaldun would have had a deep understanding of religious laws, but perhaps limited knowledge of common trade practices in his day and culture. This could factor into his low view of the morality of merchants, whom he saw as less moral than someone devoting their life to their faith.

The second part of the Analysis and Reasoning scoring category is complexity. This is by far the most challenging part of the DBQ, and the point earned by the fewest students. It isn’t impossible, just difficult. Part of the difficulty comes in that it is the least concrete skill to teach and practice.

If you’re already feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the DBQ, don’t stress about complexity. Focus on writing the best essay you can that answers the prompt. Plenty of students earn 5’s without the complexity point.

If you are ready to tackle this challenge, keep reading!

The College Board awards this point for essays that “demonstrate a complex understanding” of the topic of the prompt.

Complexity cannot be earned with a single sentence or phrase. It must show up throughout the essay. 

A complex argument starts with a complex thesis. A complex thesis must address the topic of the prompt in more than one way. Including a counter-claim or alternate viewpoint in the thesis is a good way to set up a complex argument because it builds in room within the structure of your essay to address more than one idea (provided your body paragraphs follow the structure of your thesis!)

A complex argument may include corroboration - evidence that supports or confirms the premise of the argument. A clear explanation that connects each piece of evidence to the thesis will help do this. In the DBQ, documents may also corroborate or support one another, so you could also include evidence that shows how documents relate to one another.

A complex argument may also include qualification - evidence that limits or counters an initial claim. This isn’t the same as undoing or undermining your claim. Qualifying a claim shows that it isn’t universal. An example of this might be including continuity in an essay that is primarily about change.

A final way to introduce complexity to your argument is through modification - using evidence to change your claim or argument as it develops. Modification isn’t quite as extreme as qualification, but it shows that the initial claim may be too simple to encompass the reality of history.

Since no single sentence can demonstrate complexity on its own, it’s difficult to show examples of complex arguments. Fully discussing your claim and its line of reasoning, and fairly addressing your counterclaim or alternate view is the strongest structure to aim for a complexity point!

Watch Melissa Longnecker break down documents and describe Analysis and Reasoning here.

Understanding the Process of Writing a DBQ

Before you start writing....

Because the DBQ has so many different components, your prep work before writing is critical. Don’t feel like you have to start writing right away. You are allotted a 15 min. “reading period” as part of your DBQ time - you should use it!

The very first thing you should do with any prompt is to be sure you understand the question . Misunderstanding the time period, topic, or geographic region of a prompt can kill a thoughtful and well-argued essay. When you’re practicing early in the year, go ahead and rewrite the prompt as a question. Later on, you can re-phrase it mentally without all the work.

As you think about the question, start thinking about which reasoning skill might apply best for this prompt: causation, comparison, or continuity and change over time. You don’t necessarily have to choose one of these skills to organize your writing, but it’s a good starting place if you’re feeling stuck.

Original prompt : Evaluate the extent to which cultural traditions or belief systems affected attitudes toward merchants and trade in the period 1200-1600.

Revised : How much did religion and culture impact attitudes about merchants/trade 1200-1600?

Once you know what to write about, take one minute to brainstorm what you already know about this time period and topic. This will help you start thinking about contextualization and outside knowledge as you read the documents.

Now it’s time to read the documents . As you read, pay attention to the source line that introduces the author, date, etc. about each document. It should contain information that will help you with your sourcing analysis. Mark this info with a symbol that is relevant for you, such as H for the historical situation, I for the intended audience, etc. 

If the source line doesn’t give you much, it’s ok to skip sourcing for some of the documents. Try to analyze each one though, since you have to choose at least three to write about sourcing in your essay.

Read the document for content next. Think about what the document is saying or showing. Summarize it briefly in the margin or in your head and note how it connects to the prompt and to other documents in the set.

Example (download modified DBQ prompts here ):

Documents that reject merchants on moral grounds: 2, 3, (4?)

Confucianism = mistrust of merchants: 2, 7

Documents that permit trade, despite dishonesty of merchants: 4, 6 Documents that see wealth a religious blessing: 1, 5

Islam = support of trade as a custom: 4, 6

Rationalizing/compromising morals in areas that rely on trade: 1, 4, 5, 6

Note: you wouldn’t use all of these groupings in one essay. This list shows a sample of different ways the documents might connect to build a thesis and structure an essay. The three bolded notations here correspond to the topics selected for the sample thesis.

After reading all of the documents, take a minute to organize your thinking and plan your thesis. Decide which documents fit best to support the topics of your body paragraphs and choose your three or more documents for sourcing analysis.

Once you have a plan you like, start writing!

How to Write The DBQ

Your introduction should include your contextualization and thesis. Start with a statement that establishes your time and place in history, and follow that with a brief description of the historical situation. Connect that broader context to the theme

and topic of the prompt. Then, make a claim that answers the prompt, with an overview of your reasoning and any counterclaim you plan to address.

Body paragraphs will vary in length, depending on how many documents or other pieces of evidence you include, but should follow a consistent structure. Start with a topic sentence that introduces the specific aspect of the prompt that paragraph will address. There aren’t specific points for topic sentences, but they will help you stay focused.

Follow your topic sentence with a piece of evidence from one of the documents. This should be paraphrased in your own words, and you should explain how that evidence specifically supports your argument. 

After 1-2 sentences of evidence, make an argument about sourcing . This is where you explain the specific characteristic and how it impacts your argument (“because...” or “in order to…” are good phrases here.)

Follow the sourcing with additional pieces of evidence, sourcing, and explanation. Ideally, you would do this with 2-3 documents relating to one topic sentence per paragraph. Somewhere in your body paragraph, you should also introduce a piece of outside evidence and connect it back to your topic sentence as well.

Each body paragraph will follow this general format, and there are no set number of paragraphs for the DBQ (minimum or maximum.) Write as many paragraphs as you need to both use all seven documents and fully answer the prompt by developing the argument (and counter-argument if applicable) from your thesis.

If you have time, you may choose to write a conclusion . It isn’t necessary, so you can drop it if you’re rushed. BUT, the conclusion is the only place where you can earn the thesis point outside the introduction, so it’s not a bad idea. You could re-state your thesis with different words, or give any final thoughts in terms of analysis about your topic. You might solidify your complexity point in the conclusion if written well.

When you finish, it’s time to write the Long Essay Question (if you haven’t already), so turn the page in your prompt booklet and keep going!

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the complete guide to the ap world history exam.

Advanced Placement (AP)

Before you start studying for the AP World History exam, you should get the inside scoop on its format and content. The types of questions you'll see might differ from your expectations. It's especially smart to practice writing essay outlines based on past questions before you're faced with fresh prompts on test day.

In this article, we'll go through the structure, content, and question types on the AP World History exam and provide some helpful tips for acing it !

How Is the AP World History Exam Structured?

The AP World History exam is three hours and 15 minutes and consists of two sections, each of which contains a Part A and a Part B. Here's a basic overview of these sections before we get into the nitty-gritty below:

• Section 1, Part A: Multiple Choice
• Section 1, Part B: Short Answer
• Section 2, Part A: Document-Based Question (DBQ)
• Section 2, Part B: Long Essay

It should be noted that the AP World History exam has undergone some big changes for the 2019-20 school year . Instead of covering thousands of years of human history and development, now it will cover only the years 1200 to the present ; as a result, the exam has been renamed AP World History: Modern (an AP World History: Ancient course and exam are in the works).

Section 1 Format

Section 1 on the AP World History exam lasts a total of 95 minutes and consists of two parts:

• Part A: Multiple Choice
• Part B: Short Answer

This chart shows what you can expect for each part of Section 1 on the World History exam:

Part A lasts 55 minutes and counts for 40% of your total AP World History score. Each question on this part comes with four possible answer choices (labeled A-D). Since there are no penalties for wrong answers, it's in your best interest to fill in an answer for every question.

Most multiple-choice questions come in sets of three to four questions and require you to analyze primary and secondary sources as well as data in the form of graphs, charts, maps, etc.

Part B lasts 40 minutes and counts for 20% of your final AP score. For this section, you must write three short answers (you'll get four prompts in total, but you choose one of two prompts to write on for your third essay). You'll have different sources, or stimuli, for each short-answer prompt:

• Short Answer 1: Includes one secondary source
• Short Answer 2: Includes one primary source
• Short Answer 3/4 (choose one prompt): No stimulus for either option; prompt 3 focuses on the years 1200-1750, while prompt 4 focuses on the years 1750-2001

Section 2 Format

Section 2 on the AP World History test lasts 100 minutes and, like Section 1, consists of two parts:

• Part A: Document-Based Question (DBQ)
• Part B: Long Essay

Here's a brief overview of the format of Section 2 of the World History exam:

Part A in Section 2 lasts one hour and counts for 25% of your total score. For the Document-Based Question, or DBQ, you'll get seven documents offering different viewpoints on a certain historical development. You must write an essay with an argument supported by this historical evidence.

Part B, which is the Long Essay, lasts for just 40 minutes and counts for 15% of your AP score. This part of the test requires you to write a full-fledged essay in response to one of three prompts (you choose which one you want to write on). Unlike the DBQ, you're not given any direct historical evidence to use in your essay; you must come up with it yourself to support your argument.

Here are the three types of prompts you can choose from for the Long Essay:

• Prompt 1: Focuses on the years 1200-1750
• Prompt 2: Focuses on the years 1450-1900
• Prompt 3: Focuses on the years 1750-2001

What Kind of Content Is Covered in AP World History?

Content on the AP World History exam is divided into six overarching themes and nine distinct units . Knowing these categorizations can help you get a better sense of what kinds of historical trends you will be asked to examine (this is especially helpful when writing free-response essays!). The units are roughly divided up into overlapping periods of time.

Below, we introduce the current themes and units, as described in the 2019-20 AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description .

The 6 Themes in AP World History

Let's start by looking closely at the six major themes covered on the AP World History exam.

Theme 1: Humans and the Environment

The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change, these populations in turn shape their environments.

Key points:

• Demography and disease
• Patterns of settlement

Theme 2: Cultural Developments and Interactions

The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have political, social, and cultural implications.

• Religions and cultures
• Belief systems, philosophies, and ideologies
• Science and technology
• The arts and architecture

Theme 3: Governance

A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise power in different ways and for different purposes.

• Political structures and forms of governance
• Nations and nationalism
• Revolts and revolutions
• Regional, transregional, and global structures and organizations

Theme 4: Economic Systems

As societies develop, they affect and are affected by the ways that they produce, exchange, and consume goods and services.

• Agricultural and pastoral production
• Trade and commerce
• Labor systems
• Industrialization
• Capitalism and socialism

Theme 5: Social Interactions and Organization

The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern the interactions between these groups and between individuals influence political, economic, and cultural institutions and organization.

• Gender roles and relations
• Family and kinship
• Racial and ethnic constructions
• Social and economic classes
• Slavery and abolition

Theme 6: Technology and Innovation

Human adaptation and innovation have resulted in increased efficiency, comfort, and security, and technological advances have shaped human development and interactions with both intended and unintended consequences.

• Intellectual innovation
• Transportation technologies and trade
• Modes of production and machinery
• Communication

The 9 Units in AP World History

Here, we'll go over the nine units of the AP World History course and exam. But before we describe each one in depth, here's a quick overview of how these units are tested:

Source: AP World History Course and Exam Description, 2019-20

Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (1200-1450)

• Developments in East Asia from c. 1200 to c. 1450
• Developments in Dar al-Islam from c. 1200 to c. 1450
• Developments in South and Southeast Asia from c. 1200 to c. 1450
• State Building in the Americas
• State Building in Africa
• Developments in Europe from c. 1200 to c. 1450
• Comparison in the period from c. 1200 to c. 1450

Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (1200-1450)

• The Silk Roads
• The Mongol Empire and the making of the modern world
• Exchange in the Indian Ocean
• Trans-Saharan trade routes
• Cultural consequences of connectivity
• Environmental consequences of connectivity
• Comparison of economic exchange

Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (1450-1750)

• Empires expand
• Empires: administration
• Empires: belief systems
• Comparison in land-based empires

Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections (1450-1750)

• Technological innovations from 1450 to 1750
• Exploration: causes and events from 1450 to 1750
• Columbian exchange
• Maritime empires established
• Maritime empires maintained and developed
• Internal and external challenges to state power from 1450 to 1750
• Changing social hierarchies from 1450 to 1750
• Continuity and change from 1450 to 1750

Unit 5: Revolutions (1750-1900)

• The Enlightenment
• Nationalism and revolutions in the period from 1750 to 1900
• Industrial Revolution begins
• Industrialization spreads in the period from 1750 to 1900
• Technology of the Industrial Age
• Industrialization: government's role from 1750 to 1900
• Economic developments and innovations in the Industrial Age
• Reactions to the industrial economy from 1750 to 1900
• Society and the Industrial Age
• Continuity and change in the Industrial Age

Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization (1750-1900)

• Rationales for imperialism from 1750 to 1900
• State expansion from 1750 to 1900
• Indigenous responses to state expansion from 1750 to 1900
• Global economic development from 1750 to 1900
• Economic imperialism from 1750 to 1900
• Causes of migration in an interconnected world
• Effects of migration
• Causation in the Imperial Age

Unit 7: Global Conflict (1900-Present)

• Shifting power after 1900
• Causes of World War I
• Conducting World War I
• The economy in the interwar period
• Unresolved tensions after World War I
• Causes of World War II
• Conducting World War II
• Mass atrocities after 1900
• Causation in global conflict

Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization (1900-Present)

• Setting the stage for the Cold War and decolonization
• The Cold War
• Effects of the Cold War
• Spread of communism after 1900
• Decolonization after 1900
• Newly independent states
• Global resistance to established order after 1900
• End of the Cold War
• Causation in the age of the Cold War and decolonization

Unit 9: Globalization (1900-Present)

• Advances in technology and exchange after 1900
• Technological advances and limitations after 1900: disease
• Technological advances: debates about the environment after 1900
• Economics in the Global Age
• Calls for reform and responses after 1900
• Globalized culture after 1900
• Resistance to globalization after 1900
• Institutions developing in a globalized world
• Continuity and change in a globalized world

Sample AP World History Test Questions

Let's go through examples of each of the four types of questions you'll see on the AP World History exam. All sample questions come from the 2019-20 World History Course and Exam Description .

Multiple-Choice Question Example

Most multiple-choice questions come in sets of three to four questions that ask you to respond to a particular source, or stimulus, such as a primary source, a secondary source, or data in the form of a map, chart, or table.

In this sample question, you're being asked to read and interpret two separate passages . You must have background knowledge of economic trends in the late 20th century to be able to select the correct answer here (which is answer choice C ).

Short-Answer Question Example

This short-answer question is accompanied by a secondary source. In each short-answer question on the test, each part (A-C) should only require a one- to two-sentence answer . You'll then get 1 point per correct response (so the max you can earn on one short-answer question is 3 points).

Here's how you could earn full credit for this question, per the official scoring guidelines .

(A) Sample Answers

• Hakuseki's argument was influenced by Confucianism.
• Hakuseki's argument that sovereign is Heaven to the subjects and the father is Heaven to the child was influenced by Confucian beliefs.
• Hakuseki's argument that only the emperor is supposed to serve the Lord of Heaven reflects the beliefs of Confucianism.

(B) Sample Answers

• One important difference is that most Christian missionaries and Muslim Sufis traveled across the world and spread their religion without being banned by other governments.
• One important difference between the circumstances of the religious encounter in eighteenth century Japan and other religious encounters in the period 1450–1750 is that religious interactions in this period more frequently led to the development of syncretic belief systems such as Vodou or Santería than the outright banning of the preaching of a religion.
• One important difference between the Tokugawa shogunate banning the preaching of Christianity and most other religious interactions in the period 1450–1750 is that some governments, such as the Mughal Empire under Akbar, encouraged religious tolerance and interaction.

(C) Sample Answers

• The Mughal emperors of India and the African kings of Kongo attempted to restrict European merchants to certain towns and trading posts.
• The Ming and Qing emperors of China confined the Portuguese merchants to Macao and placed legal restrictions on converting to Christianity.
• Although the Safavid Empire allowed European merchants to settle in some cities and even serve as advisors at court, preaching Christianity was strictly forbidden.

Document-Based Question Example

You'll get seven documents with your DBQ (not shown in the sample above), and you must use at least six of these as evidence in your response. The DBQ is worth up to 7 points .

Here's what you'd need to do to earn full credit for this sample DBQ, per the scoring guidelines .

Long Essay Question Example

For the Long Essay, you'll get three possible prompts to choose from. This question is an example of an Option 2 prompt with a focus on the years 1450-1900 —in this case, the 19th century. You can earn up to 6 points for your essay.

Here's what you'd need to do to earn full credit for this sample, per the official scoring guidelines :

How Is the AP World History Exam Scored?

Now that you've seen what questions look like on the AP World History test, let's quickly go over exactly how the exam is scored. Like all other AP tests, you will get a final scaled score for AP World History on a scale of 1-5 . This is a cumulative score that combines your raw scores from each of the four parts of the test (Multiple Choice, Short Answer, DBQ, and Long Essay).

Keep reading to see how each part of the AP World History test is scored.

Multiple Choice

Raw scoring for the multiple-choice section is simple: you earn 1 point for each multiple-choice question you answer correctly . Since there are 55 questions, the max number of points you can earn here is 55. Remember that this part counts for 40% of your total score .

No points are taken off for incorrect answers, so be sure to fill in every answer bubble!

Short Answer

Each short-answer question is worth 3 points—one for each task (labeled A-C) you must complete. Because there are three short-answer questions, this means you can earn a total of 9 raw points for all your responses. The short-answer portion counts for 20% of your final AP score .

Document-Based Question

The DBQ is worth 25% of your final score and is graded on a 7-point rubric , as shown below:

The Long Essay is worth just 15% of your overall score and is graded on a 6-point rubric :

The Best Way to Prep for the AP World History Exam: 3 Tips

Here are a few of the most important prep tips for AP World History. If you want more advice, take a look at our article on the best study strategies for this exam .

Tip 1: Make Connections to Themes (and Memorize Examples)

World History is a course that covers a ton of information, so much so that it can be hard to think of specific examples that relate to your arguments in essay questions. You should be able to elaborate on one or two concrete events from each period that relate to each theme of the course.

As long as you can preserve this bank of information in your mind, you'll be able to support your answers to any essay questions the test throws at you.

Tip 2: Use Outside Information Selectively

Providing specific historical examples in your essay lets you show your mastery of the material, but you need to be cautious. This test is less about how much you know and more about how well you understand the connections and underlying themes that connect historical facts.

Each fact you mention must have a specific purpose and should tie directly into what the question is asking and what you've stated in your argument.

Tip 3: Learn to Read Multiple-Choice Questions Carefully

You can get into some trouble if you don't understand exactly what the multiple-choice questions are asking on this exam. You'll only find the correct answer if you stick to the specifics of the question. Otherwise, you could get tripped up by choices that are accurate statements about history but inaccurate answers to the question being asked.

Practice your skills in selecting answers that directly pertain to the evidence presented in the question.

Summary: What to Know About the AP World History Exam

The AP World History exam is a three-hour and 15-minute test that consists of 55 multiple-choice questions, three short answers, one DBQ, and one essay.

Questions address six major historical themes and nine units, with periods stretching back to the year 1200 CE. While this is undoubtedly a lot of information to study, it's important to realize that long-term trends are more important than small details.

You can do extremely well on the World History test, as long as you master the major events of each period and understand their essential causes and effects .

What's Next?

Looking for some practice materials for the World History exam? Then check out this detailed guide to all the AP World History practice tests available online .

It's a smart idea to practice your writing skills on DBQs before any AP history test. Learn about the best places to find DBQ examples and how you can write an excellent response .

Which AP classes should you take in high school besides World History? Our expert guide will help you decide based on your goals, academic interests, and schedule.

Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar.

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